It has been a whirlwind start to 2011! We started the new year with 3 days of school and then a week off for some serious snow for Georgia.
I have several different projects going on in the media center right now, so I am going to post on each of them!
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Friday, December 10, 2010
New Books, Students using Destiny to Write Reviews, Invention Research Projects
This week the students have been working on final exams Tuesday-Friday! Monday the 6th graders finished up their Invention Researh Projects we have been working on with an Invention Fair in the CMS Media Center. Check out the pictures...
We also recieved a HUGE Follett Order of new Fiction with a little new non-fiction. Last year I worked very hard (and spent a lot of money) to update the non-fiction. So, this year, we have spent a great deal of our budget on high-interest and mostly YA fiction titles to entice our readers as one of our goals is to promote leisure reading. Below are some pictures of the first classes to come in and check out the new books...
I did a lesson on writing a review using Destiny. So, once these kids finish reading the books, they will write reviews on them.
We also recieved a HUGE Follett Order of new Fiction with a little new non-fiction. Last year I worked very hard (and spent a lot of money) to update the non-fiction. So, this year, we have spent a great deal of our budget on high-interest and mostly YA fiction titles to entice our readers as one of our goals is to promote leisure reading. Below are some pictures of the first classes to come in and check out the new books...
I did a lesson on writing a review using Destiny. So, once these kids finish reading the books, they will write reviews on them.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
It's on....We have been nominated again...
In an email from my principal this morning, I heard that our program has been nominated for the Georgia Exemplary Library Media Program for the 2011 school year!
"I was very honored to make a nomination this evening. Please accept…" --Tad MacMillan
Step one complete. All nominations are due by March 15th and the application is due by May 2nd. Step two and beyond...
Keep my program going in the current direction to meet the Exemplary Rubric Standards
Continue to document using the blog
Begin to work on application
Turn in application by May 2nd
Below are a few quotes from the email that Judy Serritella sent out to principals:
"The Georgia Department of Education is proud to announce the launch the Tenth Annual Exemplary Library Media Recognition Program. We are using the same procedures as in past years. There are a few changes in the 2011 version.
The economic situation has caused schools, systems, and Library Media programs to face many challenges. However, the criteria for this award have not changed. If you feel your library media program is exemplary but has faced cuts in both personnel and budget, the narrative should reflect that. The Library Media Specialist should explain in the application how the program is continuing to provide resources for academic achievement for the students and exceptional assistance for faculty and staff and how he/she is dealing with the obstacles. The Library Media Specialist, classroom teachers, parents, administrators, students, and/or community members may nominate the school library media program."
"The Exemplary Library Media Program utilizes education laws, state board rules, state guidelines, and national standards to help improve, enhance, and enrich the library media program in our schools. A rubric with nineteen indicators has been developed by the GaDOE that not only helps us honor and recognize media programs that meet these standards, but also illustrates those standards to schools that are working toward excellence.
Some of the guidelines that the Georgia Department of Education considers for this recognition are:
Student Achievement: The classroom teacher and the Library Media Specialist use a variety of collaboratively designed tools for assessing student achievement. The Library Media Specialist and teachers also collect and use student data to design activities that will lead to improved student achievement. The library media program supports instructional strategies and learning activities that meet individual needs. The Library Media Specialist uses the Georgia Performance Standards, GALILEO, and is familiar with the Lexile initiative.
Flexible Scheduling: GaDOE Rule IFBD states that flexibly schedule media center access for students and teachers shall be included in school media program implementation. The accessibility refers to the facility, the staff, and the resources and is based on instructional need. Students and teachers must be able to come to the library media center throughout the day to use information sources, to read for pleasure, and to meet and work with other students and teachers.
Collaborative Planning: Planning between the Library Media Specialist and the classroom teacher, which encourages both scheduled and informal visits, is the process that makes a library media program successful. The Library Media Specialist actively plans with and encourages every teacher to participate in the design of instruction. Learning strategies and activities for all students are designed with all teachers who are willing to plan collaboratively.
Staffing: The Library Media Specialist is not shared at any other time with other areas in the school. A Library Media paraprofessional is part of the support team and is not shared in other areas of the school.
There are many other criteria listed in the rubric that I invite you to review and discuss with your Library Media Specialist, school media committee, and other stakeholders. If you feel your library media program meets or exceeds the criteria, I encourage you to write a brief letter of support for your school’s media program and have your media specialist(s) fill out the required paperwork. The narrative does not have to be lengthy or time consuming. The directions and information including the rubric may be accessed at:
http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/sia_as_library.aspx
Exemplary Library Media Recognition Program
Directions and Application Information Library Media Program Rubric Previous Winners"
"If you would like to nominate your school’s Library Media Program, click on the link below:
http://admin.doe.k12.ga.us/gadoe/ots/empnom.nsf/Nomination?OpenForm "
"I was very honored to make a nomination this evening. Please accept…" --Tad MacMillan
Step one complete. All nominations are due by March 15th and the application is due by May 2nd. Step two and beyond...
Keep my program going in the current direction to meet the Exemplary Rubric Standards
Continue to document using the blog
Begin to work on application
Turn in application by May 2nd
Below are a few quotes from the email that Judy Serritella sent out to principals:
"The Georgia Department of Education is proud to announce the launch the Tenth Annual Exemplary Library Media Recognition Program. We are using the same procedures as in past years. There are a few changes in the 2011 version.
The economic situation has caused schools, systems, and Library Media programs to face many challenges. However, the criteria for this award have not changed. If you feel your library media program is exemplary but has faced cuts in both personnel and budget, the narrative should reflect that. The Library Media Specialist should explain in the application how the program is continuing to provide resources for academic achievement for the students and exceptional assistance for faculty and staff and how he/she is dealing with the obstacles. The Library Media Specialist, classroom teachers, parents, administrators, students, and/or community members may nominate the school library media program."
"The Exemplary Library Media Program utilizes education laws, state board rules, state guidelines, and national standards to help improve, enhance, and enrich the library media program in our schools. A rubric with nineteen indicators has been developed by the GaDOE that not only helps us honor and recognize media programs that meet these standards, but also illustrates those standards to schools that are working toward excellence.
Some of the guidelines that the Georgia Department of Education considers for this recognition are:
Student Achievement: The classroom teacher and the Library Media Specialist use a variety of collaboratively designed tools for assessing student achievement. The Library Media Specialist and teachers also collect and use student data to design activities that will lead to improved student achievement. The library media program supports instructional strategies and learning activities that meet individual needs. The Library Media Specialist uses the Georgia Performance Standards, GALILEO, and is familiar with the Lexile initiative.
Flexible Scheduling: GaDOE Rule IFBD states that flexibly schedule media center access for students and teachers shall be included in school media program implementation. The accessibility refers to the facility, the staff, and the resources and is based on instructional need. Students and teachers must be able to come to the library media center throughout the day to use information sources, to read for pleasure, and to meet and work with other students and teachers.
Collaborative Planning: Planning between the Library Media Specialist and the classroom teacher, which encourages both scheduled and informal visits, is the process that makes a library media program successful. The Library Media Specialist actively plans with and encourages every teacher to participate in the design of instruction. Learning strategies and activities for all students are designed with all teachers who are willing to plan collaboratively.
Staffing: The Library Media Specialist is not shared at any other time with other areas in the school. A Library Media paraprofessional is part of the support team and is not shared in other areas of the school.
There are many other criteria listed in the rubric that I invite you to review and discuss with your Library Media Specialist, school media committee, and other stakeholders. If you feel your library media program meets or exceeds the criteria, I encourage you to write a brief letter of support for your school’s media program and have your media specialist(s) fill out the required paperwork. The narrative does not have to be lengthy or time consuming. The directions and information including the rubric may be accessed at:
http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/sia_as_library.aspx
Exemplary Library Media Recognition Program
Directions and Application Information Library Media Program Rubric Previous Winners"
"If you would like to nominate your school’s Library Media Program, click on the link below:
http://admin.doe.k12.ga.us/gadoe/ots/empnom.nsf/Nomination?OpenForm "
Thursday, December 2, 2010
reading promo, promo; media literacy/galileo, new fiction, Galileo Promo
Reading Celebrations:
I've been using the daily broadcast to promote our quarterly reading celebration and leisure reading. I had the broadcast kids make an ad suggesting students read daily, turn in their reading logs and then they will get to come to pancake and hot cocoa breakfast in January. Last quarter we have over 300 kids eat hot dogs with us. I hope we are able to meet or exceed this goal next quarter.
Media Literacy Mini-Lessons:
6th and 7th Grade Social Studies--working on research for their social studies fair projects. Students have needed small group, whole class and individual instruction. I collaborated with 6th grade social studies teacher and gifted facilitator on this project.
6th grade ELA invention project-Students were given a writing prompt relating to an invention they thought was important. Students were then asked to research that invention or research to create their own invention. I shared Galileo and Destiny Web Path Express with Bullock's classes. We talked about how these resources are more reliable than using google, etc. We also had several print sources that were useful including the invention encyclopedia Eureka!
New Fiction--Collection Development--
In the last few years I have weeded and worked very hard to update most of the non-fiction collection. An ongoing project is to add the latest fiction titles. I have about $4000 worth of new fiction in boxes ready to be processed and added to the collection. I can't wait to get these books out there for the kids. It's very important to promote leisure reading and improving reading scores that we have books that are of interest to our students that entice them to read!
To Promote Media Literacy and Galileo:
I am currently working on a bulletin board for Galileo. The theme is the same as the question on the MC website.... Doing Research? Use Galileo! Then I highlight the benefits of using Galileo over standard search engines such as Google.
I've been using the daily broadcast to promote our quarterly reading celebration and leisure reading. I had the broadcast kids make an ad suggesting students read daily, turn in their reading logs and then they will get to come to pancake and hot cocoa breakfast in January. Last quarter we have over 300 kids eat hot dogs with us. I hope we are able to meet or exceed this goal next quarter.
Media Literacy Mini-Lessons:
6th and 7th Grade Social Studies--working on research for their social studies fair projects. Students have needed small group, whole class and individual instruction. I collaborated with 6th grade social studies teacher and gifted facilitator on this project.
6th grade ELA invention project-Students were given a writing prompt relating to an invention they thought was important. Students were then asked to research that invention or research to create their own invention. I shared Galileo and Destiny Web Path Express with Bullock's classes. We talked about how these resources are more reliable than using google, etc. We also had several print sources that were useful including the invention encyclopedia Eureka!
New Fiction--Collection Development--
In the last few years I have weeded and worked very hard to update most of the non-fiction collection. An ongoing project is to add the latest fiction titles. I have about $4000 worth of new fiction in boxes ready to be processed and added to the collection. I can't wait to get these books out there for the kids. It's very important to promote leisure reading and improving reading scores that we have books that are of interest to our students that entice them to read!
To Promote Media Literacy and Galileo:
I am currently working on a bulletin board for Galileo. The theme is the same as the question on the MC website.... Doing Research? Use Galileo! Then I highlight the benefits of using Galileo over standard search engines such as Google.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Reading Rocks Night, Book Fair Over, HRRB, Science Collab, Galileo
I spent Monday and Tuesday preparing for our Reading Rocks Family Night. The event turned out even bigger than I ever imagined. We had over 300 people in attendance. I could not have done it without all the help I received from students, parents, and most of all the amazing CMS faculty!
Below are email quotes from my principal and a parent or two about the event...
"FOLKS: I know your mailbox is already full, but I can’t wait to tell you about how exceptionally special tonight at Clarke Middle was. You sent a powerful message to the community. Not only did we have a huge crowd and hallways full of cool activities, but we had tons of 5th graders coming to see our school for the first time and leaving impressed, more relaxed and excited about the possibilities. (We also had cheerleaders and step teamers cheering and performing in celebration of READING. I want to work in a school where the cheerleaders have reading cheers!)
Anyway, I was overwhelmed as were our parents, prospective parents, students, and prospective students. Clarke Middle was a really cool place tonight, even cooler than usually, and that is all because of you. Thanks for everyone who stayed and helped out—what a huge faculty turnout. What a message that sends to our families and families to be. I would want my child here…
Deep thanks and forever gratitude to Shawn Hinger who was the master of ceremonies and the magic behind the night. I am elated—thanks! " --Tad MacMillan
From parents to Mr. MacMillan:
"Thank you! I just want to say that last night had such a wonderful energy about it. I left there thinking about how the working parts at CMS this year add up to something greater than their sum. There is a synergistic positivity (you can quote me on that) that is really fascinating and inspiring to witness. Thanks for your part in the mix. It’s clearly working. (And I do realize that it’s work. Hard work.)"
"As I looked around last night at the large number of involved students, the large number of 5th graders being "toured" around CMS, and the large number of parents I felt a deep appreciation for what you all have done in a short period of time. Clearly morale among students teachers and parents is high. It is a different school and a better school than it was a few short months ago. You all have done a wonderful job and I am deeply and sincerely appreciative. It is so good to be enjoying CMS again. Thank you."
From parent to Mrs. Hinger:
"Reading Rocks was great! I know it took a lot of planning and work on your part. I appreciate your commitment to the kids and families of CMS."
And still on Friday morning I stopped at Jittery Joe's for coffee and a parent stopped me to talk about the evening. He said that he told my principal AND the superintendent both that this was such a wonderful event to celebrate literacy. I was so proud!
My only regret about the evening is that I did not take a single picture! I guess I was too busy to even think to tell anyone to take pictures for us! I was so disappointed when I realized this on the way home. :)
Below are email quotes from my principal and a parent or two about the event...
"FOLKS: I know your mailbox is already full, but I can’t wait to tell you about how exceptionally special tonight at Clarke Middle was. You sent a powerful message to the community. Not only did we have a huge crowd and hallways full of cool activities, but we had tons of 5th graders coming to see our school for the first time and leaving impressed, more relaxed and excited about the possibilities. (We also had cheerleaders and step teamers cheering and performing in celebration of READING. I want to work in a school where the cheerleaders have reading cheers!)
Anyway, I was overwhelmed as were our parents, prospective parents, students, and prospective students. Clarke Middle was a really cool place tonight, even cooler than usually, and that is all because of you. Thanks for everyone who stayed and helped out—what a huge faculty turnout. What a message that sends to our families and families to be. I would want my child here…
Deep thanks and forever gratitude to Shawn Hinger who was the master of ceremonies and the magic behind the night. I am elated—thanks! " --Tad MacMillan
From parents to Mr. MacMillan:
"Thank you! I just want to say that last night had such a wonderful energy about it. I left there thinking about how the working parts at CMS this year add up to something greater than their sum. There is a synergistic positivity (you can quote me on that) that is really fascinating and inspiring to witness. Thanks for your part in the mix. It’s clearly working. (And I do realize that it’s work. Hard work.)"
"As I looked around last night at the large number of involved students, the large number of 5th graders being "toured" around CMS, and the large number of parents I felt a deep appreciation for what you all have done in a short period of time. Clearly morale among students teachers and parents is high. It is a different school and a better school than it was a few short months ago. You all have done a wonderful job and I am deeply and sincerely appreciative. It is so good to be enjoying CMS again. Thank you."
From parent to Mrs. Hinger:
"Reading Rocks was great! I know it took a lot of planning and work on your part. I appreciate your commitment to the kids and families of CMS."
And still on Friday morning I stopped at Jittery Joe's for coffee and a parent stopped me to talk about the evening. He said that he told my principal AND the superintendent both that this was such a wonderful event to celebrate literacy. I was so proud!
My only regret about the evening is that I did not take a single picture! I guess I was too busy to even think to tell anyone to take pictures for us! I was so disappointed when I realized this on the way home. :)
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Book Fair, out two days, family night planning, community
It was a book fair week, and I was out with my sick kids two days this week. I am working on planning my family night for next week... Lots of info about that to come later.
I invited the band, orchestra, step team and cheerleaders to perform. Also, Ms. McNeeley helped me plan several literacy events for the evening. We will have food and fun and much much more. I spent a great deal of time this week organizing all the acitvities and food for next week!
Mary Jean Hartel, Athens Regional Library Youth Services Librarian, came to meet with other half of 6th grade--community, storytelling, info lit
I invited the band, orchestra, step team and cheerleaders to perform. Also, Ms. McNeeley helped me plan several literacy events for the evening. We will have food and fun and much much more. I spent a great deal of time this week organizing all the acitvities and food for next week!
Mary Jean Hartel, Athens Regional Library Youth Services Librarian, came to meet with other half of 6th grade--community, storytelling, info lit
Thursday, November 4, 2010
ARL (public) Library, HRRB Promo, Reading Celebration
This week has been NUTS!
Monday--Today we had Mary Jean Hartel from Athens Regional Library to visit for the day in our MC. She spoke to groups of 6th graders about Youth Services at ARL and did some
storytelling. This is a great way to create a community connection and tap into resources outside of our walls. Also, we were able to teach the students some info lit skills...
storytelling. This is a great way to create a community connection and tap into resources outside of our walls. Also, we were able to teach the students some info lit skills...Tuesday--Admin stuff for 1/2 day, and broadcast for the other 1/2 Admin stuff--did walk through with leadership team. Saw 10ish classrooms and got some ideas for collaboration, promote collaboration at 7th grade team meeting and discuss ideas for non-fiction unit with 7th grade ELA teachers (start planning this after book fair)
Wednesday--planning for HRRB (writing questions, making rotations), visited Barrow Elementary with gifted facilitators to view Cluster Groups. Great opportunity to see Andy and learn about new collaboration ideas and ways to bring the community into our school and provide resources from "beyond our walls". Went to Sams Club to buy food for our Reading Celebration tomorrow, met with principal to discuss Family Literacy Night, book fair, silver wars (raising money for Books for Keep Charity), etc.
Thursday--Reading Celebration 
Cookout and HRRB final prep... It was an awesome day, my para and a couple of parent volunteers grilled hotdogs and provided lunch for over 260 students (in the media center) who completed their reading logs 1st quarter. The kids were wonderful, we took lots of pictures and we plan to promote like crazy for the next quarter's incentive (a pancake breakfast w/ hot chocolate!)
Cookout and HRRB final prep... It was an awesome day, my para and a couple of parent volunteers grilled hotdogs and provided lunch for over 260 students (in the media center) who completed their reading logs 1st quarter. The kids were wonderful, we took lots of pictures and we plan to promote like crazy for the next quarter's incentive (a pancake breakfast w/ hot chocolate!)The last two periods of the day an 8th grade teacher brought her students in for book talks and checkout. She also, so kindly, brought her vacuum cleaner and vacuumed the media center for me because as appreciative and sweet the kids were during the Reading Celebration Cookout, they are still messy middle schoolers! :) I love CMS; we really do have a family atmosphere here with kids and teachers alike.
Friday--I know it's not Friday yet, but I have a feeling I may not have a chance to post again this week, so here's what we have planned for tomorrow.... Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl Competition Round 1. We have 7 teams competing during 1st period (ELT) tomorrow. I have the rounds and questions all set up. I am very proud of the HRRB this year b/c it really has helped to promote literacy and leisure reading. The students are talking the books up with one another and 3 of the 5 school competition books stay on the top 10 in circulation each week!
After that, I plan to work on the website and some lesson planning for upcoming info literacy skills lessons. And at 1:30 I have volunteers coming in to help us set up the book fair! I can't wait until next week the book fair is going to be LOTS of FUN!
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